Solomon Bel-Ḥensh

(303 words)

As is common in Jewish Morocco, the name Solomon Bel-Ḥensh (Shlomo ben l’Ḥensh) refers to both a sainted rabbinic figure (ṣaddīq) and the shrine that marks his burial place. Nothing is known of the saint’s life beyond the tradition that he arrived in Morocco some five hundred years ago as a rabbinical emissary (Heb. meshullaḥ or shadar) from the Holy Land (a common motif for a saint’s origin). As with many Moroccan Jewish saints, his power is associated with a wild animal. Ḥensh is the Arabic word for snake, and accordingly many hagiographic narratives revolve around the rabb…